Letter to the editor: To all those who came to our assistance

Chief Gary Brunoli talks with reporters as Torrington and dozens of other departments battled a five-alarm blaze at Toce Brothers Inc., a warehouse full of tires, on Albert Street in Torrington on April 3. Esteban L. Hernandez ó The Register Citizen

The morning of April 3, 2014 brought a terrible loss to two longtime business owners in the City of Torrington, and as Chief of the Torrington Fire Department I wish we could have achieved a better outcome for O&G Industries and the TOCE Tire Company. However, as bad as this fire was for these two businesses, I take great pride in the effort put forth by the members of the Torrington Fire Service and I value the opportunity to serve as the Chief of Fire Services. I am especially grateful that we had no injuries and that we were able to protect all the surrounding properties.

The response we received from all of our mutual aid responders was well coordinated and very much appreciated. The years of work dedicated to regional planning and providing mutual aid was put to the test on Thursday morning and throughout the day. The operation was a joint effort from many organizations, and without this response the outcome could have been very different.

There are, hopefully, only a few times in your career when your department will be put to the test of dealing with such a fire. The strategic decisions made at the beginning of the incident allowed us to keep the fire from spreading outside of the building of origin. The coordination of all agencies --Torrington Police Department, Campion Ambulance, the dispatchers at Litchfield County Dispatch and the Torrington Fire Department -- during the initial stages of the incident provided the leadership that led to the outcome at the end of the day. There are so many organizations who responded to our request for assistance - I hope not to forget any of you:

The assistance from DEEP to try and limit environmental damage from the smoke and run off.

The assistance of our Torrington, Winsted and Harwinton Fire Police in helping to direct traffic around the incident was invaluable.

The help from Charlotte Hungerford Hospital Emergency Management and other services was greatly appreciated.

The City of Torrington Public Works, Park and Recreation and the Mayor’s Office provided assistance throughout the incident. The Torrington Board of Education and Facilities Manager who helped coordinate the orderly management of students who live in the area and Torrington Area Health for their assistance with public health issues.

The State of Connecticut State Fire Marshal’s Office for assistance in the investigation and The Connecticut Department of Transportation for their help with traffic diversion around the incident. Region 5 Coordinator, as well as the Litchfield County Coordinators, your assistance was greatly appreciated.

In any large incident or disaster you really see what the people of this community and country are all about - neighbors helping neighbors. Torrington Emergency Management coordinated the numerous donations of food and water that came in throughout the day so we could feed and hydrate our responders. I don’t have names of everyone who donated and I know there were many who just dropped items off and left, but to anyone who brought supplies to support our operation, I thank you. Those that I have record of helping are the Torrington Soup Kitchen, FISH, Torrington Municipal and Federal Teachers Credit Union, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bogey’s/Jimmie’s, LaMoncia’s, The Venetian, Alfredo’s, Scarpelli’s, S&S Sweets, Community Systems Inc., The Jones Family, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital , The American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and CT Canteen. Thanks also to the All Star Bus Company for providing the needed transportation of evacuees. To ACE Transmission and Brooker Memorial for use of their facilities

To all the members of the news media, those I know and those whom I met that day, I hope we were able to provide you with the access you needed to report on the incident. You were all very respectful of the fact that we had a job to do, and as Chief I understand that you have to do yours also. I thank you all for your understanding and coverage of this incident.

I will close by saying that in a State of 169 individual towns, we cannot do it alone. The numerous hours of planning that has taken place over many years was put to the test on Thursday and for all intents and purposes it worked. I wish to thank the citizens of this City for their generosity and support on Thursday -- it does not go unnoticed and I am proud to be a resident of this City as well as a public servant. I have probably forgotten someone or some organization, and for this I apologize, but thank you.